Delivered Via Electronic Mail

April 15, 2021

The Honorable Jay Inslee Governor State of P.O. Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504

Dear Governor Inslee:

We are writing to express our concern regarding your decision to move Cowlitz, Pierce and Whitman counties back to Phase 2 of your Healthy Washington plan.

It’s been more than a year since your emergency order went into effect, and our constituents have made every sacrifice that’s been asked of them. We will never fully comprehend the mental and emotional toll this pandemic has had on their well-being and can only imagine the frustration and dismay they now feel as a result of your decision.

In your statement, you said we have done 95 yards on a 99-yard drive. To further your analogy, you are now forcing our counties to take a knee. It’s a decision we fear will cause further devastation for our constituents, their families and their livelihoods.

As we continue to battle this pandemic, we know case numbers will ebb and flow. We’re seeing that all around the country. The question is how we respond. We urge you to reconsider your decision to move our counties back to Phase 2. However, if your decision is final, we ask that you work with the Department of Health to redouble vaccination efforts in our counties to ensure a quick return to Phase 3. There can be no more “technical glitches” by the state that result in the under-ordering of vaccines, as we saw in Pierce County.

If we’re going to be successful, the state can’t set us up to fail.

We hope you will honor Pierce County’s request for an additional 15,000 vaccine doses per week and Cowlitz County’s request for an additional 2,000 vaccine doses per week. We also hope you will work closely with Washington State University officials in providing them with the resources they need to lower the rate of infections among the student population. We look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,

Senator Jeff Wilson Representative Jim Walsh Representative Joel McEntire 19th Legislative District 19th Legislative District 19th Legislative District

Senator John Braun Representative Representative 20th Legislative District 20th Legislative District 20th Legislative District

Senator Representative Kelly Chambers Representative 25th Legislative District 25th Legislative District 25th Legislative District

Senator Jim McCune Representative J.T. Wilcox Representative 2nd Legislative District 2nd Legislative District 2nd Legislative District

Senator Representative Representative Eric Robertson 31st Legislative District 31st Legislative District 31st Legislative District

Cont.

Representative Representative 26th Legislative District 26th Legislative District

Senator Representative Representative 9th Legislative District 9th Legislative District 9th Legislative District